Zlatan protests innocence as he discusses Mings elbow

Joe Williams

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Catches Tyrone Mings with an elbow

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has denied intentionally elbowing Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings during their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were made to settle for yet another home draw after Josh King’s penalty cancelled out Marcos Rojo’s opener.

But the major talking point came just before half-time, when Mings and Ibrahimovic clashed.

Mings appeared to stamp on the United striker while he was on the ground, with referee Kevin Friend failing to spot the incident.

Ibrahimovic appeared to seek retribution almost immediately when he elbowed Mings while challenging for a header.

Friend punished neither player and after the match, Mings denied that there was any intent in his clash with Ibrahimovic.

The United striker has also spoken out to plead his innocence.

He told MUTV: “With the elbow situation, I jump, I protect myself. I jump very high, he jumps into me. I think he jumps backwards, I jump straight up, Unfortunately, he jumps into my elbow.”

“Hopefully he is not injured. These situations happen. I go for the ball, and unluckily he jumps into my elbow. It was nothing on purpose, there’s nothing to do about it now and hopefully he is not injured.”